We’ve all experienced it in life: that certain “wake-up call”. The question becomes what, if anything, will we do about it?
Let me tell you about mine as a violinist.
My early years were full of artistic exposure and opportunity that I cherish to this day, but the true epiphany in my performance came many years later in the middle of a two week run as a pit musician for a musical theater company.
Years of using ill-fitting equipment and hyper-focusing on the music in front of me were finally wreaking havoc on my left shoulder. Honestly, I could hardly play more than two minutes without stopping to work out tight muscles.
Forcing oneself to function with physical pain does not come without a price and I knew something simply had to change. This was the wake-up call.
My saving grace came shortly thereafter in the form of rediscovering my roots in Paul Rolland pedagogy and the Alexander Technique.
To me, it isn’t surprising that I was unable to recognize the reasons for finding myself in this predicament. I had long since left behind the understanding of freedom of movement from my early training in favor of the “do what it takes to get the job done” approach of a busy performer.
Since my backstory may be helpful, I’ll share it briefly. My mother was a violin professor and colleague of Paul Rolland and through her, I had the good fortune to study with Rolland for two years as a teenager. The content of his lessons was immensely valuable and I learned his technical concepts were based on principles of freedom of movement in string playing. As good fortune would have it I was also introduced to the Alexander Technique during this time.
Sadly, these two influences fell by the wayside in subsequent years as I took up studies elsewhere; the connections were lost and the concepts of freedom in motion were put on the back burner.
Fast forward to 2012 and two serendipitous discoveries changed everything and put me on the path toward relief from debilitating shoulder pain. First, I learned that a violinist friend had recovered from a similar condition and become a certified Alexander instructor. Second, I reconnected with Paul Rolland’s first-generation students, now accomplished educators, at a timely workshop. Both of these experiences propelled a reevaluation of my approach to playing which ultimately led to the resolution I needed and, quite frankly, allowed a new lease on my musical life!
I have since become a certified teacher in both the Alexander Technique and Paul Rolland Pedagogy.
North Carolina Performance Institute was created to provide opportunities for students, teachers, and professionals in any discipline to continue developing the ability to learn and perform with greater physical ease and mental calm. Paul Rolland Pedagogy is an excellent conduit for string teachers, particularly in the early years, although the principles can be applied to string players of any level and with any background. Similarly, the Alexander Technique is studied by people of all walks of life—not only those in the performing arts. Rest assured, anyone can benefit from learning to use oneself in a more optimal manner. If you consider the repetitious movements of any activity in your daily life, you will find an area in which you most likely can function with greater ease.
We hope you will allow us to guide you in discovering the possibilities of a more balanced use of self and the joys that result from a more fulfilling experience in any activity.
Cheers!